I sat and read over a ARD piece today, which discussed the problem of German nursing.
For those who aren't aware.....nursing has become this national crisis (I know, it's hard to imagine this being ranked now in the top twenty problems of Germany).
So the solution being talked and often pushed? Go recruit nurses (certified ones) from outside of Germany. Well....to be honest, it's generally lead off to 3rd world countries (Mexico and Albania are often mentioned, but the Philippines and various 'lesser' countries are often the target).
If you watch ARD or ZDF (both public TV networks), I would say over the past year....there's at least six mentions per week on some nursing topic or the shortage. Public forums are now held on the topic.
My gut feeling over the introduction of foreign nurses? They will generally come in and readily accept the lesser wage situation, which gives management and the political folks a positive feeling, but the German nurses are looking at the use of the foreign nurses and the cost factor, then shaking their head. I think it will only aggravate them more.....causing more to pack up and leave (for the US, Canada, Australia, etc).
At the heart of the discussion, you would be thinking that you'd go into school systems and recruit young Germans who seem to have some interest, and have them going off into a specialized school, and bring the numbers up over the next five years. Instead, it seems to be easier to just show up in the Philippines.....hustle 150 nurses through a German language class, and twelve months later....give them a visa.
It's one of those episodes where you think you've solved some problem, and wake up a decade later to find that you actually caused a bigger problem to come and exist.
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